Home | FAQs | Articles | How to use Pinterest to collate your scrapbook

Building a new home or renovating?

How to use Pinterest to collate your scrapbook of new house designs or home renovation ideas.

by Sharon Comber

Over the past few months I have had many people ask me how to use Pinterest. It is great for wasting time on the internet, but can it actually help you organise your life? What is it best used for, how do I use it and so on.

I’ve seen several posts lately sharing how to use Pinterest, but those have been geared toward bloggers and how they can use as a social networking tool. While Pinterest is a great tool for bloggers, you don’t have to have a blog to use Pinterest.

First name: *

Last name: *

Email address: *

Although I initially started using Pinterest personally, I have now created a page for DCF Design Group – enabling us to share images or ideas useful to those looking at house designs for a new home or some home renovation ideas for an existing home.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. I like to compare it to a folder or scrapbook that you would use to store all the awesome ideas you find in magazines. Instead of keeping a binder full of clippings you have collected via numerous magazines, it is all virtual. Less clutter and all organised into specific categories – that is the best part!

How Do I Join Pinterest?

This is probably the most difficult part of using Pinterest because it is still invite only.

If you have friends that are already using Pinterest, you could ask them to invite you. If you don’t have any friends on Pinterest I’ll invite you. Just fill out the form below, click submit and I’ll send you an invite in a few days.

I Need a Pinterest Invite

Would you like a Pinterest invite? I'll need your email address to invite you so add it below.

I’m In….. Now What?

Invite your friends. Someone invited you, so how about inviting someone you know who might like to join.

Get familiar with the site.

When you log in you will see pins from the people you follow. If you aren’t following anyone, go to your name and click on the arrow. A drop down menu will appear and you can click on “find friends” to see which of your friends are on Pinterest. The more people you follow the more Pins you see on the main page.

You can also use the search bar to find things that you are interested in. You could search for things like ‘modern home designs’, ‘ house designs’, ‘home improvement ideas’ , ‘house renovation’ and so on to find some images that appeal to you and start building up your boards.

You can also follow “boards.”

This means you are not following a person, just their pins on a specific board will show up in your stream, but pins from their other boards will not show up.

After you are following your friends you can create your own boards. Boards are how you categorise what you are pinning. When you start, Pinterest has boards already created for you. You can use them or create your own.

Create your own boards

If you are not sure what boards you want to create you can always create as you go.

You could create broad categories such as ‘house designs’ or ‘home renovation ideas’ however you could also break your boards down into specific areas of your home. Either is fine, just a matter of preference and ease of finding. Remember however, once you start, you may find lots of great images so your boards could become quite full.

Pin It

Once you find something you want to pin, hover over the image and the “Repin” option will appear. Remember everything on Pinterest has been pinned before. So you are repinning items when you are on the Pinterest site.

Click on Repin and a drop down menu will appear. Remember to choose the correct board so you can easily find your pin later. You also have the option to write a short description.

If you want to increase the chances of other people finding and repinning your pin, take a second to write up a quick description.

Pinterest Is Imaged Based

You can’t pin something that doesn’t have an image on the webpage. So if you find a great article you probably won’t be able to “Pin It” unless it has a large image accompanying the article.

Pinterest Etiquette

If you are pinning a post from the blog make sure you write a short description, but do not copy and paste the entire post. Pinterest is a bookmarking site, not a syndicated site. Copying and pasting an entire article into the description is like stealing the content from that site.

How Exactly Will Pinterest Help Me ?

I’ll be the first to admit Pinterest can be a huge time waster! It is easy to sign on and get lost in the sea of great house designs and home renovation ideas, home decor, and landscaping . If you spend all your time pinning and not doing, what’s the point?

Pinterest is a great source for inspiration. You can also use it to bookmark the videos you find on the web. One of our clients used it to collate all of the different room types she liked, then she brought the images on her laptop to our office to discuss her home renovation ideas with the designer. Now that the house design is complete, she is now using it to look at the fixtures, finishes and appliances she would like and collating ready to begin further discussions with our team.

Can you live your entire life without Pinterest? Absolutely! But I have found great ideas for house designs and home renovation tips so much quicker than if I were just browsing the entire internet. So in a way, it could be a time saver….

To manage my time on Pinterest I usually set the timer on my phone and limit myself to ten or fifteen minutes for browsing. I consider it part fun, part research and try to use my time wisely when I’m online.

There is a lot more you can do on Pinterest, but hopefully this tutorial will get you started pinning and finding great ideas to help you get organised and inspired.